SAN DIEGO — What are entertainers to do when the world is sheltering in place and all of the theatres, bars and nightclubs are closed? Many musicians and stand-up comics are making the most of their YouTube channels. This gets their material out there, but it’s risky as it lacks the immediate response of an audience. So you just don’t know how your jokes landed.
Comedian Billy DeVore, who co-hosts the Cincinnati Reds’ focused podcast “The New Nasty Boys,” has come out with his debut album: Drinking at the Kids Table. Loud, self-deprecating and rather crude, DeVore cracks wise about being overweight (Having a gym membership just means he can watch Sports Center in another building.) rescuing cats, and the challenges of married life. His wife Alicia views him not so much as a pet project like “This Old House” but more like “Extreme Home Makeover.”
Although halachically Jewish, DeVore was raised Pentecostal because his family “couldn’t afford a Jewish lifestyle.” They were kind of hillbillies as his mother drank copious quantities of Michelob and his grandfather freely -and loudly- used “the N-word” in public. But while they couldn’t afford synagogue dues and a lavish bar mitzvah, his parents did enjoy a swinger lifestyle, which he tells us just enough about to get the picture.
He enjoys living and working in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. (Which is also where I hail from.) What he doesn’t like is traveling and people telling him how much they hate Cincinnati Chili. If you’re not familiar, this unique recipe includes Worcestershire Sauce and a little baker’s chocolate. In Cincinnati, a “three-way” is not a category on blue media but a bowl of spaghetti smothered in chili and topped with finely shredded cheddar cheese. Personally, I love it.
DeVore doesn’t get into politics (at least not in this album) so red MAGA hatters and Blue Wavers can actually sit together noshing on three-ways and enjoy some good laughs amidst the lockdown blues. “Drinking at the Kids Table” is available for download on www.bigpicturemediaonline.com.
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Eric George Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com